[문화정책/이슈] 재정 확보 및 취약계층 보호 강조한 좌파당의 문화정책
[Date Registered] 2025-04-26 [Views] 1611
The German federal election concluded on February 23, 20251. The election results showed the center-conservative Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) receiving 28.52% of the votes and securing 208 seats, the party assessed as far-right, Alternative for Germany (AfD), receiving 20.8% and 152 seats, the progressive Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) receiving 16.41% and 120 seats, The Greens (Die Grünen) receiving 11.61% and 85 seats, and The Left (Die Linke) receiving 8.77% and 64 seats2. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht party (BSW) failed to enter the Bundestag3.
The German Cultural Council (Deutscher Kulturrat) is an umbrella organization of cultural associations in Germany4. It cooperates with the federal government, state governments, and EU institutions to advise on the establishment and implementation of cultural policy5. Following the general election, the organization sent an official letter to the parties asking for their positions on cultural policy6. The CDU/CSU, SPD, The Greens, FDP, and The Left responded, while the AfD and the BSW did not state their positions7. We have decided to analyze the cultural policy positions of each party in the order of their share of the vote8.
< Official Logo of The Left Party - Source: The Left Party Facebook account (@Die Linke) >
The Left Party is a progressive German political party that partially inherited the legacy of the former East German Socialist Unity Party (SED)9. The party faced a crisis, recording a 2.7% share of the vote in last year's European Parliament election, as the far-right AfD gained strength in the former East German regions—the party's main base of support—and the renowned politician Sahra Wagenknecht left the party to establish her own10. However, in the recent federal election, the party's parliamentary group leader, Heidi Reichinnek, led an aggressive social media strategy and garnered high support from younger generations11. The Left Party focuses on social equality as its main agenda12. They criticized the 'traffic light' coalition government that collapsed last November and adopted the campaign slogan, **"Left turn after the traffic light"**13.
The Left Party proposed a concrete plan for securing finances: the reintroduction of a wealth tax14. The party stated that it recognizes "art and culture as a communal task of the state and will enshrine them in the constitution as a national goal"15. To achieve this, The Left aims to strengthen financial support from federal states and local authorities through the reintroduction of a Wealth Tax (Vermögenssteuer)16. The wealth tax is levied on high-net-worth individuals and corporations17. Its collection was halted in 1997 when the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the Wealth Tax Act violated the principle of equality18. The Left Party advocates for reintroducing the wealth tax to strengthen the social responsibility of high-income earners and large corporations19.
In terms of cultural diversity, The Left Party plans to designate two major non-Christian religious holidays—Yom Kippur (Jewish Day of Atonement) and Zuckerfest (Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic Festival of Sweets)—as legal public holidays20. Yom Kippur is a Jewish holiday known as the 'Day of Atonement,' involving fasting and repentance to atone for sins and restore the relationship with God21. Zuckerfest is a major Islamic holiday celebrating the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, commemorated by families and friends gathering, sharing food, and eating sweet treats22. Alongside this, the party is pushing for the introduction of the Democracy Promotion Act (Demokratiefördergesetz) to institutionalize support for civil society activities that promote democracy and diversity23.
The Left Party expressed its position to strengthen the focus on unacknowledged minority agendas in Nazi history24. In the field of the Culture of Remembrance (Erinnerungskultur), they plan to expand commemorative activities not only for Holocaust victims but also for victims who were not properly remembered during the Nazi era, such as the Roma and Sinti people and social minorities25. They also plan to strengthen remembrance and education regarding the victims of German colonialism26. Furthermore, they explained that they would not cut federal cultural subsidies, but would stably maintain and expand them, compensating for the rising costs of rent and energy for cultural institutions27.
In terms of labor market and social policy, The Left plans to include individual self-employed persons (Soloselbständige) in the statutory social insurance system, stating that those who commission work from the self-employed must also bear social insurance contributions28. They announced plans to improve pensions for low-income earners and low-wage workers and set the minimum pension level at €1,40029. They plan to expand the scope of the Artists' Social Insurance (Künstlersozialkasse, KSK) to other professions and increase federal subsidies30. Additionally, they will maintain and expand cultural facilities such as practice and work spaces for artists and support facility renovations to expand accessibility (barrierefrei) for disabled persons31.
The Left Party shared the same position as other progressive parties regarding the need to protect the rights of original creators of AI training data32. They plan to establish clear rules for the use of copyrighted works in the training of AI systems33. Furthermore, they plan to revise the licensing model to ensure fair compensation for authors and publishers, mandate the labeling of AI-generated content, and disclose the training data and algorithms of AI systems34.